The Fire of Life
by blueshabooties
Summary: post-season three... Its Veronica's sophmore year at Hearst and things are going to be much different this time around. Aren't they? LoVe new summary
1. Chapter 1

**Title:** The Fire of Life

**Rating:** K

**Summary:** post-season three... Its Veronica's sophmore year at Hearst and things are going to be much different this time around. Aren't they? LoVe

**Spoilers:** All three seasons.

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing.

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Veronica sat on the beach, her fingers idly drawing random patterns in the sand. All around her, horny guys and girls in bikinis celebrated the first party of Hearst's new year. They danced and drank near a bonfire, while she sat a few feet away on a random blanket.

She REALLY did not want to be here. There were very few people at the party that she recognized, and those conversations had quickly come to a standstill when she could not remember any of their names. Most of the people who actually spoke to her were guys who happened to remember her face from last year's infamous video, hoping for an easy lay. After telling them all off, and quite a few threats with her taser, she retreated to an isolated area of the beach.

The only reason she was even here was because Wallace had asked her to come, saying that they needed to spend some quality BFF time together. Between her FBI internship and Wallace's work with Invisible Children, they had not seen each other in months. He promised that they could catch up on old times. Except, at the moment, he was off talking to a few of his friends from the basketball team and Veronica was alone, pulling stray threads off the fraying edge of the blanket.

Another reason she and Wallace had not seen each other since school started was because she did not exactly feel comfortable going to his dorm anymore. Not when he was still roommates with Piz. When she and Piz had broken up over the summer, it had been amicable enough of a split that they agreed to remain friends. Still, it got awkward enough when they were in the same room that even Piz could not think of something to say. So now they had taken to avoiding each other.

Veronica sighed and looked out into the mass of people. Her eyes managed to somehow lock onto another's and it took her a moment to recognize who had just joined the party. Parker's eyes narrowed slightly and she made a show of flipping her hair as she turned away.

College seemed to be getting more like high school every day. Not only did she now have a perpetual rumor going around about the magnitude of her sluttiness, she also has a whole new class of former friends who now hate her. She tried to explain to Parker before last year ended that she did not want Logan anymore, but the girl refused to believe her and blamed Veronica for the demise of her and Logan's relationship.

Veronica turned her gaze to the bonfire in order to avoid the angry glares coming from Parker's direction. She stared beyond the hazy smoke that surrounded the small area, to the orange and yellow fire as it danced in the slight breeze. Her eyes trailed down to where the flames were licking the large wooden logs at the base of the bonfire. In her mind, she could recall a quote she had once read in a cheesy love novel that Lilly had leant her. "Love is the fire of life," was what the heroine had said after the knight in shining armor saved her from the burning castle. At the time, Veronica had giggled and said it was one of the cutest things she had ever read. Now, all she could think was how similar all of her disastrous relationships were to fire.

Her first love, the one she shared with Duncan, had been like a flame a top a candle. Safe within its controlled environment, the love could have burned forever. Unfortunately, it had been smothered by outer forces. Then she was left all alone. Spending her time staring at a charred wick, her mind had romanticized the warmth and soft glow it had emitted. Suddenly, and without warning, their flame had been relit. Though, it was not how she remembered. Its glow was dulled by the wax walls that protected it and the heat barely warmed her. So she inched her fingers beyond the surrounding wax and closer to the flame. But she accidently pushed them too far and extinguished the flame with her fingertips. She was once again left alone, with nothing but ashes on her hands.

Logan's love, on the other hand, had been and still was a roaring fire. An all-consuming inferno that would continue to rage until it swallowed the whole world. It had sparked accidently and spread far too quickly. From the beginning, she was frightened by the intensity of it all. Her fingers had immediately been singed and she pulled them back, petrified of how far it would go. That is, until the burns had healed and the pain was forgotten. Then she grew curious again, and the next time she thrust even more of herself into the searing love. Veronica and Logan were stuck in a vicious cycle. One that she knew would continue until she was devoured, body and soul.

With Piz, though, it had not yet been love. It was still something newly created, with nothing to base itself upon. Like a flame burning a path down a match. The one that took a couple of strikes to set alight. One with potential that needed to be nurtured and protected from the wind, or it could never be more than just a tiny flame with a short life span. Their flame had constantly flickered in the wind, and she was never sure if it would set a fire or just blow out with the breeze. In reality, they had reached their make or break point, and their potential just sizzled out.

Veronica was drawn out of her thoughts by the sound of somebody coming up behind her. "It's about time you came back, Papa Bear. I was getting so lonely with no one to partake in all this debauchery with," she said, without turning around.

"Papa Bear?" The disembodied voice questioned. She felt her heart drop as she realized it was most definitely not Wallace. "That's a new one. Can I give you nickname too? What about Sweet cheeks? Or maybe one that has to do with your awesome bo…"

"Go away, Dick," she growled, reaching her hand into her bag to grab her taser.

Ignoring her, he plopped down on the blanket beside her. "Wow, you're no fun at all. When was the last time you got laid?"

She scrunched her nose as she inched away from the overwhelming scent of alcohol that enveloped her. "Jeez, how much have you had to drink?"

He stared up at the sky, the beer in his hand spilling out onto the blanket. "Dunno. Like four or five or…. A LOT more." He turned back to her. "I'm drinking for two now, you know."

She gasped in mock horror. "And you're drinking? While knocked up?"

"No," he shook his head, too drunk to understand her sarcasm. "I meant for Logan."

"You're drinking for Logan?"

"Yeah," he sighed despondently. "Logan's too busy with like homework or something."

"So now you have to do the party circuit without your drinking buddy?" she sarcastically asked. Veronica actually felt slightly bad when Dick gave her a dejected nod.

"It's even worse than when you broke up with him last year. At least then he still came out every once in awhile to, you know, hang with hot chicks. Yesterday, I met these two really easy, hot sorority pledges and he went to class instead of coming with us. I mean I was totally cool with it because, like I said, they were really easy and they were completely willing to do a mina.. mena.. a threesome." Veronica rolled her eyes as Dick paused to chug the rest of his beer. When he was done, he threw down the empty bottle and leaned closer to her. "So, what's the odds of you and me hooking up?"

She shook her head, exasperated. "Do we really need to go through this again?"

"Just trying to help…" he slurred as he fell down onto the sand. Veronica gazed down at his passed out form and then dropped her head into her hands. FRAK. In her head, she quickly weighed her options. She could leave him here, unconscious in the sand. It was not like he had not done it to her before. Or… she could call the one person who actually cared about Dick's well being.

She pulled out her cell phone and stared at his number. They had not spoken since he beat up Gory in the cafeteria. After that display of what she knew he considered heroism, she came to the decision that she needed to stick by her original declaration that he needed to be out of her life for good. It would be the best for both of them.

But she still loved him. Still missed him. And now all the arguments that she had been using to keep him away were completely useless. Whenever she saw him in the cafeteria or outside of class, she had to continuously remind herself that he would never change so that she would not go up and just kiss him in the middle of campus.

Mac, though, had been subtly hinting that Logan was becoming more focused. Apparently, the two had become friends when they worked on some website together. And now Dick was telling her that he was choosing class over alcohol and girls.

Veronica could not help but wonder that maybe, IF they got back together this time, then maybe this time things would be different.

She took a deep breath and pressed the call button, preparing to once again throw herself in the flames' path.

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A/N: So I just got back from a three day college orientation (Hooray for higher education!) and I wanted to write something to kind of get back in the swing of things. Please review!


	2. Chapter 2

**Title:** The Fire of Life

**Rating:** K

**Summary: **post-season three... Its Veronica's sophmore year at Hearst and things are going to be much different this time around. Aren't they? LoVe

**Spoilers:** All three seasons.

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing.

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He could hear a ringing sound and it took a few seconds before it occurred to him that it was his phone. Lifting his head from where it had fallen against the book when he fell asleep, he rubbed his eyes and glanced at the time on the VCR. It was one in the morning.

Groaning, he opened his phone without looking at it and mumbled something that he was pretty sure sounded like, "What?"

There were a few seconds of silence and he was just about to hang up. He really wanted to go back to sleep. He had to be up at eight, which was very early for him, to take a calculus test. Considering that he had failed a whole year of calculus in high school, he needed all the help he could get.

"Hey," a timid voice greeted him. His eyes instantly widened and he turned the phone around in his hand to stare at the caller id. There it was, the block letters glaring up at him. **VERONICA**.

"Um… hey," he said back, cringing at how stupid he sounded. It was just that he was shocked. This was the first time he had heard from her since that day in the cafeteria. Every time he saw her in the halls, she would turn and walk in an opposite direction.

Veronica was constantly changing. She had proven back in high school, after Lilly's death, that she could adapt to most situations. This was what made her a good detective. It was what made her, for the most part, unpredictable. But the one thing Logan could always count on was that if something hit too close to home, if something actually made her feel, then she ran like her life depended on it. Which, in her mind, it probably did.

But, unfortunately, he was one of those somethings.

"What's up?" he asked, pleased that this time he sounded a lot less stupefied.

There was another pause. Then, "I was wondering if you could come pick up Dick."

"You're with Dick?"

He could hear her long suffering sigh on the other end of the line. "He passed out on my blanket." That was when he knew this was all a dream. He should have realized it when he heard her voice. Veronica would not be calling him because she was never speaking to him again. If there was one thing that Veronica had in spades, it was stubbornness. She could pull off anything if she wanted it enough. But the fact that his brain had to conjure up an image of Dick sleeping with Veronica to tip him off to just how unrealistic this situation is was just sad.

"Okay, I just played that back in my head and it's not what it sounds like," she chuckled uncomfortably. "There's this beach party that Wallace brought me to. I was sitting on this blanket by the bonfire and Dick came over. He annoyed me and then propositioned me, our usual interactions. But now he's out cold and…"

"Where?" Logan asked, cutting off her nervous rambling.

"Ocean Beach," she told him.

He stood up and put his keys in his back pocket. "I'll be right there."

"Okay, thanks." Then the line went dead.

It only took ten minutes for him to get to the beach. He had memorized the routes to every beach in Neptune when he was twelve. It seemed like useful information for him to possess since he went surfing so often.

Logan had to park his Range Rover a few blocks down because there were too many cars in the area surrounding the beach. It was going to seriously suck if he had to drag Dick's unconscious body all the way back to his car. The guy was a lot heavier than he looked.

Walking onto the beach, all he could see was a crowd of people swaying in front of a huge bonfire. If he had not heard the random top 40 song blaring from someone's car stereo or seen the dozen or so kegs, he would have sworn it was some sort of satanic ritual. He briefly wondered if most college parties looked so creepy from the outside looking in.

There were groups of people all over the place and he could not see Veronica or Dick anywhere from where he was standing. He groaned as he realized he should have asked her where exactly on the beach she was. This was going to be an all night thing, he thought. So much for his exam.

He began pushing past people and he was halfway through the throng when he accidently knocked into some girl.

"Sorry," he apologized. She turned toward him, but the smile on her face died when she saw who he was. Parker raised an eyebrow as she frowned at him.

"Hey," he awkwardly said for the second time that night.

"Hey," she returned, her usually cheery tone became flat in his presence. He tried to think of something else to say when his eyes landed on two blonde heads and a purple blanket a little further away.

She turned to follow his gaze and then rolled her eyes. "I should've known," she scoffed. He was about to deny whatever she was thinking when she turned to some guy he did not recognize. "Want to come with me to get another beer?"

"Sure," the guy agreed, a confused expression on his face as he obviously tried to figure out why there was a sudden change in his date's demeanor. A change that would probably not work out in his favor at the night's end.

Logan watched them walk away and then turned to face the source of his own ruined night. He was going to kill Dick.

Veronica was watching him as he moved toward her. A tight smile appeared on her face when he got close enough. He looked down and saw Dick sprawled out on the ground, drooling into the sand. "How long has he been like this?"

"About fifteen minutes," she said, wiping the sand off her legs as she stood. The action brought his attention to the amount of skin she was showing in her short denim skirt and black tank top. He could feel the jealousy surge through him as he wondered if she was dressed like that because she was on a date. Then he remembered she had said she was here with Wallace and it was embarrassing at how close he came to sagging in relief.

"I figured I should call you," she continued, "to stave off the shaved head and balls he would have had drawn on his forehead if I had just left him here."

"Then I guess Dick has you to thank for the next girl he gets to sleep with him," he replied.

"Well that's why my badge says protector of the horniest and undiscriminating of the desperate."

He whistled in admiration. "Is that what they hand out at the FBI these days?"

"Damn straight," she said with a smile. They stood there awkwardly for a moment.

"Did you have fun?" he asked. "On the internship, I mean."

She nodded. "Yeah. There was a lot of standing back and watching the 'professionals' work, but I learned a lot."

"That's good."

She looked down at her feet a moment. "What about you?" she questioned. "How was your summer?"

"Good." He was beginning to wonder if he even knew any other adjectives. "Lots of surfing." She nodded and he took a moment to glance down at Dick. His blonde friend was still sleeping with his face planted in the sand.

"So," he started, preparing himself to move into dangerous territory. "How's Piz been?"

Her eyes widened for a second and she opened her mouth to answer. She was cut off by a, "Yo, V!" They turned to see Wallace jogging up to them. He stopped when he saw Logan. "Oh, hey," he greeted uncertainly.

"Hey," Logan responded. Wallace's eyes trailed down to Dick and he turned back to Veronica for an answer. She simply shrugged.

"Well, I better get him back home before the mobs with razors and markers show up," he said as he moved closer to the blanket.

"Do you need any help?" she asked. He shook his head, figuring it would be best for all if they brought this awkward encounter to an end as quickly as possible. She stood there for a moment, as if debating in her mind what to do.

"Okay," she slowly agreed. "See you later." She gave him a small smile and turned away. Wallace gave him a quick wave and then followed her. Logan watched his second ex to walk away that night. Then, he turned back to Dick.

"Hey," he called, lightly kicking the other guy in the leg. Dick grunted and turned his head in the other direction.

Definitely going to be a long night.

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A/N: I hadn't really known if I was going to continue this story because I'm still working on Shattered and it really was just a random idea at the time. BUT, people said that they were interested and so that was all the encouragement I needed. It took me all night, but I think I came up with a plausible storyline. So I hope you enjoy and please keep reviewing.


	3. Chapter 3

**Title:** The Fire of Life

**Rating:** K

**Summary: ** Veronica thinks about the men she has loved.

**Spoilers:** All three seasons.

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing.

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"So… care to explain what that was all about?" Veronica glanced at Wallace through the corner of her eye while she tightened her grip on the steering wheel. He had the determined tone and angry set to his jaw that he only used when he was really frustrated. Which, surprisingly, he did not use on her as often as she probably deserved.

"Explain what?" she stalled, not really wanting to get into a conversation about something she had not completely figured out for herself yet. She did not have to look at him to know that his eyes were boring into the side of her head.

"Logan," he grounded out.

"Oh, that," she said, feigning innocence. "I called him… to pick up Dick"

"You called him?!" he repeated incredulously. "Why? You don't even like Dick."

Veronica rolled her eyes. "Yeah, but I didn't want to have an idiotic surfer bimbo dying from alcohol poisoning on my conscience tomorrow." She quickly looked at him, "Why do you care anyway?"

"Because I thought you were done with him," he countered in a slightly raised voice. "Logan's insane! You know what he did to Piz."

"He thought he was protecting me," she argued.

"You're seriously standing up for him?"

"No," she quickly backpedaled. Then she paused for a moment. Wait, was she? She was not a hundred percent sure if she was defending her own actions or Logan's anymore "It's just… that's the past. I figure new year, new problems. Maybe it's time we all move on."

"Whatever," he muttered, looking out the window instead of at her.

Veronica pulled into campus and parked the car in front of his dorm building. "Is there something wrong?" She looked at him closely. There was definitely something bugging him. Something bigger than her newly rekindled… whatever it was she had with Logan. "Did something happen at the party?" she asked. It was possible, considering how long he had been gone.

"No," he sighed, the angry look in his eyes melting away. He turned back to her and smiled apologetically. "I guess our BFF time got ruined tonight, huh?"

She nodded, allowing him to change the topic. For now. "Yup. We'll have to make it up some other time. How about instead of a night spent partying with a bunch of depraved frats, you and I stay up all night watching a movie marathon. I'll even bring snicker doodles and ice cream."

He laughed. "Alright, but no chick flicks."

"Ugh," she groaned in mock agony. "There goes my top fifteen choices." He just shook his head and got out of the car with a smile.

"I still get to braid your hair, though," she called as he began to walk up the stairs of his dorm building. He waved at her without turning around. Veronica watched him go, worriedly chewing her bottom lip. Then she turned her car and drove back to her own little humble abode.

When she reached the front door, she silently opened it and crept in. After a couple seconds, she realized that she was alone. She turned on the lights and threw herself onto the couch. In her mind, she prioritized all the confusing thoughts swirling around in her head. First, she would figure out what had Wallace so agitated. And only after that was done would she begin to sort out the mess that was Veronica and Logan.

"Honey I'm home," a voice quietly called from the door. Veronica smiled and turned to watch as the other occupant of the residence walked into the room. "And where have you been?" she sternly questioned. "It's two o'clock in the morning. I have been worried sick!"

An unbelieving expression stared back at her. "Well, since your still wearing yesterday's clothes, I guess you haven't been worrying for too long."

Veronica got off the couch and stretched. "What can I say? It was a terrifying five minutes." Then she flopped down on the bed only a few feet away. "So, where have you been Mac-Attack?"

"Nowhere," Mac answered, smiling shyly to herself as she pulled off her jacket.

"Maybe out with Max," she teased. Mac sat down on her own bed, just adjacent to Veronica's, and Veronica turned to face her.

"We went to a movie," Mac told her.

"Wow," Veronica said, looking down at her watch. "For six hours? That must have been some damn good movie."

Mac grinned. "Well, then we went back to his place and…"

"Got it on? Did the horizontal mambo? Had hot…"

"Seriously?" Mac cut her off, blushing.

"Sorry," Veronica apologized, getting back off the bed. "I think I spent a little too much time with Dick tonight?"

"Dick?" Mac inquired curiously, with only the slightest hint of distaste.

Veronica shook her head. "Long story. I'll explain later." Mac nodded, lying back on her bed. Veronica collected a pair of her pajamas from her dresser and her towel off a rack by the door. She took the room key as she went to the shower, just in case Mac was asleep by the time she got back.

When Parker had told her last year that it did not matter if Veronica was going back to Logan, she did not realize at the time that meant that Parker was going to cut off all ties with either of them. Including her friendship with Mac. When everyone was preparing to go home for the summer, Parker informed Mac that she was going to request a different roommate for the new year. They had not really spoken since.

Veronica could not help but feel guilty. She tried talking to Parker, but Parker wanted nothing to do with her. Mac had not said anything about it, had not blamed her, but Veronica knew it was her fault. The only thing that could make her feel worse was the fact that she benefited from Mac losing a friend. Parker had moved out, and Veronica moved in.

After her father lost the election for sheriff, he acted as if it did not bother him. He did not even mention her breaking into Jake Kane's house again and he ignored every attempt she made to talk about the charges that were being brought up against him. Eventually, for reasons only known to him, Jake Kane dropped the charges and her father was able to go back to being a regular P.I. Soon after, Veronica left and spent ten weeks in Virginia. When she got back, things were back to normal. And yet, every conversation felt strained at the same time.

He was happy to be a P.I., but Veronica knew he loved being Sheriff. He had spent so long and worked so hard to redeem himself to these people. Finally, he had succeeded and was so close to getting his old life back, and she managed to ruin it all in a single night.

Since then, Veronica could sense that he did not trust her anymore. He would from now on think that she was hiding something from him, which she usually was. Living together was too difficult when they had to always keep their guards up when they were around one another. It hurt to have to block out the one person she had always let it in. To have the only person she had always trusted not trust her.

Veronica suggested before the new school year began that maybe she should move into the Hearst dorms. She had told him that going away for the internship made her realize that she needed to move out of the house to learn independence. That, this way, she would get the full college experience.

Despite the hurt look in his eyes, he had agreed. At the end of August, he helped her move into her new dorm room with Mac. He even bought her a lava lamp, explaining that every college movie he had seen told him that this was essential for any college dorm. Then he hugged her and left. They had only spoken a few times since then

Veronica thought that a little time apart would solve all their problems.

It was not working.

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A/N: So, this might not interest you, but I planned on having both a _Shattered_ and a _Fire of Life_ chapter up tonight. Unfortunately, my brain malfunctioned and I had an extreme case of writer's block. I spent a whole day trying to write my _Shattered_ chapter, but I got about a page and a half before I realized it just was not coming. But I did do a lot of research on the various plots of each episode in ALL three seasons and I now have loose outlines for both stories.

A/N2: This chapter was a lot shorter than I wanted. Like I said, really bad writing day for me. But this one is mostly meant to be filler anyway to setup a few of the plots that will be occurring in this story. Next chapter will probably be more Logan and Dick, with some LoVe interaction soon coming up.

A/N3: After rereading this chapter, I feel like I may be on the verge of vilifying Parker. If anyone else gets that sense too, I just want to say that I'm not trying to create Parker into some kind of bitch or opponent to Veronica. That was not her personality in the show and I don't want it to be so here either. She's just really, really hurt at the moment.

Okay, I'll shut up now that my notes are longer than my actual chapter. Thank you for all the great reviews I've been getting. I'll update soon.

Please review :)


	4. Chapter 4

**Title:** The Fire of Life

**Rating:** K

**Summary: **post-season three... Its Veronica's sophomore year at Hearst and things are going to be much different this time around. Aren't they? LoVe

**Spoilers:** All three seasons.

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing.

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Logan walked out of his two o'clock management class and into the glaring afternoon sunlight. Squinting down at the notes he had just taken, he carefully reread them. Then he balled up the paper and threw it in the nearest garbage can, missing by at least two feet. A girl, with a three ring binder clutched to her chest, glared at him as he walked away.

He did not know who he was kidding. How did he expect to pass if he could not even take comprehensible lecture notes? He completely bombed his morning calculus exam and it had thrown him off for the rest of the day. Last night, after the only two people who could have possibly helped him left, he had to drag Dick's limp body back to his car. Along the way, he had woken up for exactly two minutes to puke on Logan's shoes. Then, following a very eventful trip through the Grand lobby and into the elevator, Logan only had enough time to get Dick into his own bed and take a shower before he had to head out to class. Four cups of coffee later and he was still barely managing on autopilot.

Maybe he could pay someone tomorrow to let him copy their notes. He smirked, remembering how it had always worked in high school. But back then, at least, he did not have to pay often. Just mentioning the Echolls name was usually enough. But it did not seem to hold the same weight now that everyone knows his father is… was a psychotic killer.

Reaching the edge of campus, he turned toward the street that would, after about a twenty minute walk, lead to the Neptune Grand. He wished for the thousandth time that he had brought his car, but he had figured at the time that a walk in the brisk morning air would wake him up enough for the exam. He had been wrong.

The moment he stepped into the street, a car turned and began speeding in his direction. He instinctively scrambled back onto the sidewalk, his books falling to the sidewalk. The car screeched to a stop in front of him. He slowly released the breath he had been holding when he realized it was his own black Range Rover. Then he balled his now empty hands into fists.

The window on the passenger side rolled down and he could see Dick gasping for air in the driver's seat. "Man, like you should have just seen your face! It was awesome!"

Logan angrily grabbed the books that had fallen and ripped open the car door. "I'm thrilled I could amuse you."

"What's your problem?" Dick asked. He tore away from the curb and nearly clipped another car as he attempted to pull into the next lane.

"Dick, who the hell taught you to drive?!" Logan yelled, just now remembering why he never used to let Dick drive them anywhere.

Dick shrugged, driving up a residential street with a sign that clearly indicated cars were supposed to be coming from an opposite direction. "My gardener taught me when I was fourteen. Though there was a lot of 'No Comprende' during the lesson, if you know what I mean."

"Ever considered taking a refresher?" Logan gripped the door handle so tightly that his knuckles turned white.

Dick looked at him. "Dude, seriously, what the hell crawled up your ass?"

"Well, other than me being really worried for my life right now," he answered, pointing out the windshield to get Dick's attention back on the road. "I've had about fifteen minutes of sleep, thanks for that by the way, and then failed a grade altering exam."

Dick, who had stopped paying attention three words into his reply, honked his car at a group of girls standing on the sidewalk. "Any of you bodacious ladies want to go on a ride with the Dick?" he yelled out to them. One looked slightly interested, but the other three glared.

Logan rolled his eyes. "Bodacious?"

"Just completing the image," he explained, making a right onto a new street. "Their freshmen, Dude. Everyone knows chicks only come to colleges near the beach so they can do the nasty with hot, able-bodied surfers."

Logan merely leaned back onto the headrest and closed his eyes, choosing not to respond to that. Silence filled the car and he could feel Dick fidgeting in the seat next to him.

"Sooo," he began, drawing out the 'o' sound. "How did you do on the test?" Logan opened his eyes long enough to stare at him in amazement.

"What?" Dick cried indignantly. "I'm showing an interest, aren't I?"

"How the hell did either of us even manage to graduate high school?" Logan muttered, rubbing his tired eyes.

Dick smirked. "Money."

"Yeah," Logan agreed, "that and probably the whole Bush's No Child Left Behind thing."

Dick snickered next to him.

Logan raised an eyebrow at him. "What?"

Dick made a visible effort to bring himself under control. "I love Bush," he said as seriously as he could manage. Then he cracked a full grin. "Especially when…"

Logan banged his head against the headrest. "Yeah, I got it Dick."

"You definitely gotta get laid tonight," Dick said, pulling the car into a parking space. He even managed to do so without hitting the cars on either side of him. "Something to pop that stick out of your ass."

Logan looked out the window and saw a series of apartment buildings that he knew were nowhere near the Neptune Grand. "What are we doing here?"

"Slumming it," Dick informed him as they got out of the car. "I need to get a new ID."

"What happened to the one you had?" he asked. They were walking to the stairs of the building just adjacent of them.

"Left it in this girl's room last week," Dick said, holding the door open for him. They made a right and began walking down a dingy hallway. "She was good in the sack, but kinda clingy. I had to cut her loose and now I can't get it back." Logan nodded, ignoring the thought that he used to be able to get fake ids from Veronica instead of crapholes like this.

Dick walked to the end of the hall and read the number on the door. Then he spun around and read the number behind him. Logan was pretty sure that Dick had no idea where he was supposed to be going. This was confirmed while he watched Dick use 'eeny, meeny, miney, mo' to pick a door to knock on.

"I'm gonna go wait in the car," Logan told him, figuring he should probably get out of there before Dick made an ass out of himself.

Dick groaned. "Dude, you screwed me up." Logan turned and walked away, while Dick started his elimination process all over again. He had almost made it to the building's exit when he suddenly choked on the air he had just inhaled. The overpowering odor of chemicals clogged his nostrils. Shoving his nose into the crook of his arm, he turned to the door closest him. Whatever was going on in there was filling the hallway with fumes. He briefly hoped it was not toxic as he rushed out of the building.

Ten minutes later, Dick was getting into the car. He flashed his new card at Logan, which read that he was well above the legal age. Then he frowned. "I thought I was driving."

"Not anymore," Logan informed him, putting the key into the ignition. They drove back to the hotel, with Dick chattering the whole time about some frat party he wanted to go to that night.

In the elevator, when Dick finally ran out of conversation, Logan turned to him. "What did you and Veronica talk about?"

Dick looked confused. "When?"

"Last night."

"That was Veronica?" Dick asked, slapping his palm against his forehead. "Damn, no wonder I came home with you. Remind me next time to pick out the chick I'm gonna hook up with **before** I get plastered."

Logan could not tell if he was telling the truth or just ignoring the question. He pulled out his room key and they both went in. Dick immediately flopped down on the couch, using the remote to turn on the television.

"Order us some hamburgers," Dick commanded from his place on the couch. Logan rolled his eyes, but picked up the phone to dial room service anyway.

As he hung up, he was shocked to realize that Dick was watching the news. And not just flipping through, but intently paying attention.

"… believed to be so," the newscaster said, staring seriously into the camera. "Now we are going to go to a live feed from the mayor's office." They watched as the screen changed to show a large room with a podium and the state flag next to it. The new mayor, Timothy Davis, came walking up to the podium, with Vinnie Van Lowe at his side.

"Three hours ago," the new mayor began, "two bodies were discovered along the Pacific Central Highway. As of yet, we are not certain of any details about their deaths, or even their identities. All we know is that they were killed early this morning. I can assure you though that we are working around the clock on this. The safety of the residents of Neptune is our highest priority. You have my guarantee that we have our best men working on this matter, including our new Sheriff, Vinnie Van Lowe.

Vinnie smile cheesily into the camera as he took the microphone. "Thank you, Mayor Davis. As a fellow citizen of Neptune, I would just like to say…"

"You know," Dick interrupted, talking over the television. "I think I paid that guy fifty bucks back in junior high to buy me beer."

Logan scoffed. They watched Vinnie answer a few of the reporters' questions, even though he never actually gave a straight answer. Then the feed ended and the news anchors began speaking again.

"You think she's hot?" Dick asked, pointing to the newswoman. "I've been trying to figure out if she's worth it. I mean she's got a nice rack, but the glasses kind of detract from her value."

Logan heard a knock at the door and walked toward it. "She's not a car, Dick."

"I guess I'd take her for a test drive," Dick mused. Logan opened the door and saw the waiter who Veronica had always argued with whenever she came over. His name was something like John. Or Jake. Or whatever. He barely looked at the guy as he took his food. Seeing that John/ Jake was still standing there, waiting for his tip, Logan reached into his back pocket to pull out the couple of singles he knew was there.

Dick came up behind him, pulling the food further into the room. He had barely lifted up the first lid, when he suddenly dropped it with a clank and backed up. "Oh dude, what the hell is that smell?"

Logan and John/ Jake stared at him as he began furiously gesturing at the food. "That's like rotten or something," he cried in disgust.

Logan pulled the lid off the plate and all three men automatically turned away, trying to find fresh air that was not tainted by the putrid stench that was now filling the room. There were two decaying rats lying in a bed of lettuce on the plate.

Dick pulled his shirt over his nose. His muffled voice kept saying, "Shit man, just shit."

Quickly dropping the lid back over the plate, Logan turned on the waiter. "What the fuck is this?!"

"I.. I don't.. I," John/ Jake stuttered. "I'm gonna go get the manager," he said, fleeing the room.

Logan backed out of the room, Dick following behind him. Those rats did not just crawl up on that plate and die. Someone had purposely arranged them. Like some kind of revolting message.

Apparently someone was pissed off at them.

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A/N: I don't remember Dick's driving from the show, but I wrote that scene to amuse myself. Something like that recently happened to me when my friend took me in his car for the first time. I nearly had a heart attack. It was my own fault for getting in the car with him. Before he got his license, he used to accidently crash his bicycle into parked cars.

I have been loving all the reviews you guys have been giving me. Thank you!

Hope you liked this chapter. Please Review :)


	5. Chapter 5

**Title:** The Fire of Life

**Rating:** K

**Summary: **post-season three... Its Veronica's sophomore year at Hearst and things are going to be much different this time around. Aren't they? LoVe

**Spoilers:** All three seasons.

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing.

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Making a left onto a new street, he glanced down at the time on the dashboard. **6:50 a.m**. He nervously scratched the back of his head as he did the math in his head. The chances of him actually making it there on time were almost slim to none, but maybe he could at least be only a LITTLE late.

As he was just about to hit the highway, he saw smoke filtering out of the cracks of the hood of his car. He cursed, pulling his car to the side of the street. Opening his door, he made his way to the front where the white fumes blew in his face. He popped open the hood and stared at the leaking mess, hoping that the smoke would form an arrow that would point him to the direction of the problem. It only took ten minutes for him to finally admit that he had no clue what the hell he was looking for.

He pulled the cell out of his pocket to call a tow truck when he heard the ominous beeping that signaled a low battery. He watched the bright image on its display darken until all he saw was his own reflection in the now black screen. Groaning in frustration, he kicked the wheel of his crappy car.

Great, he thought. Just freaking great.

He was going to be seriously late now.

Peering into the distance, he saw that the highway was not that far away. He glanced at the deserted street around him and figured he would have a better chance thumbing a ride there. Walking up to the side of the highway, he saw a dark car speeding down it.

He ran to catch up to the only car he had seen in the past fifteen minutes, but tripped and fell just as he made it to the metal road barrier. Pulling his right leg up into his line of vision, he could see blood trickling down from his skinned knee and onto his now ripped jeans.

Movement on the highway caught his attention and he looked up to see the car had pulled over onto the side of the road. He was about to call out to them, thinking that something this morning had finally gone his way and that they had seen him, when he got a better look at the three men stepping out of the vehicle. The one closest to him had the hilt of a gun visible in the waistband of his pants.

He lowered himself on shaking arms so that his body was flat against the ground. The man who had gotten out of the driver's seat walked to the side of the car facing the highway, leaning back against the automobile's frame. Obviously, he was the lookout. The driver of the car opened the trunk and threw something on the ground.

His heart pounding in his chest, he realized it was a person. A person with a blindfold covering his eyes and a gag in his mouth. The person attempted to stand, but found it impossible with both his arms and legs bound with rope. The man with the gun in his pants pulled it out and pistol whipped him into submission.

A second tied up person was hauled out of the trunk and pushed down next to the other. The man looking down the highway nodded to the others and suddenly the gun was pressed against the forehead of one of the kneeling men. The man holding the gun smirked maliciously and said something.

He could barely hear it from where he was hidden. His eyes widened in horror as he heard the deafening bang and watched the man sag to the ground. Closing his eyes, he turned his head away just as he heard the second shot. He kept his eyes shut even after he heard the engine turn on and smelled the burning rubber as the car sped away.

When he finally looked back to the road, all he saw were two bodies slumped against the black concrete. He fought to hold back the nausea that was clawing at his throat. Pulling himself up on trembling legs, he limped away as fast as he could.

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A/N: This was REALLY short, but necessarily so. I'll be updating again very soon.

Please Review :)


	6. Chapter 6

**Title:** The Fire of Life

**Rating:** K

**Summary: **post-season three... Its Veronica's sophomore year at Hearst and things are going to be much different this time around. Aren't they? LoVe

**Spoilers:** All three seasons.

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing.

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Twizzlers.

The greatest invention **EVER**. Some people may try to say that the best thing ever created is the wheel, which she did have to admit was useful at times. She guessed that a horse was probably not nearly as stealthy as a car on a stakeout. So, for the sake of her career, she narrowed it down to being the greatest invention since sliced bread. Even more so than deodorant, the internet, and South Park.

When she was a kid, her father used to buy them for her whenever they went to the movies. He was the one who taught her to bite the ends off and use the hollow candy as straws for her drink. Then, when she had drunk most of her soda, she would bite into the sweet red vine and revel in the fusion of the two tastes.

But the most important use for twizzlers, which she had long ago discovered by herself, is that they are in fact the greatest thinking candy in the world. Whenever she had a problem, she would buy a package and find herself a quiet place to chew and think. She did not know what it was about twizzlers that aided in meditation, but she was pretty sure that all the world's problems would be solved if they just kept a bag of them on each table at the U.N.

Today, though, it would seem that the awesome power of the twizzler was failing her. She sat at a table toward the edge of the Hearst cafeteria and pulled another one out as she watched the group of people sitting at the table a little further away from her. Glumly, she glanced down at what was her third package of the morning. This was probably not the healthiest thing she could be eating, but she was in college. These were the times that she was supposed to let loose, pull wild and crazy stunts.

Veronica snorted. Oh yeah, she was bad ass. Her big rebellious act in life was eating twizzlers for breakfast. Well at least now she could catch up on her freshman fifteen, even if she was a year late.

Two of the occupants stood at the table and left together, but the object of her attention stayed put. He glanced down at his Rolex and pulled out his cell phone to make a call. She made a note in her mind that it was a top of the line model. In the short time that she had been observing him, she found out that Michael Frasco seemed to be sporting the newest and most expensive of everything.

This was what had his roommate, Kevin, so worried that he hired her. Apparently Michael, who had been completely dependent on financial aid and scholarships for the past three years he attended Hearst, has been throwing around tons of cash lately. He told Kevin that his grandmother had recently died and left him most of her money in her will. Kevin was not buying it and he was right. Veronica easily discovered that Grandma Frasco was still alive and kicking in a retirement center in Lewes, Delaware. So that probably meant that Mikey Boy was paying for his new Mercedes and widescreen television with ill-gotten means. Veronica momentarily wondered if subtle had ever been a part of his vocabulary.

Kevin told her that for the past two years he and Michael had been developing a thesis together that would "revolutionize physics as we know it." Veronica had just nodded her head and smiled politely while he explained the thesis. She never knew much about physics to begin with. What Kevin thought was happening, though, was that Michael was bargaining to sell the copyright of this thesis to someone else. It was the only way Kevin could explain all the money.

But after a week of following Michael around, all Veronica discovered was that he led a very boring life of basically shuffling between class and his job as a driver for some limo company. She had not even heard him mention his thesis when she tapped his phone, though that bug was completely useless now. Every other day he had a new cell phone. She could not afford to keep up.

Veronica groaned as she dropped her head to the table. This was supposed to be an open and shut case. She hated it when she was stumped.

Her phone began vibrating in her pocket and she slowly pulled it out. She was really not in the mood to talk to anyone right now. She glanced at the screen. **Dad**. Her hand froze and she bit her lip. Then, before it could go to voicemail, she put it to her ear.

"Hello." The tinny voice crackled on the line. Reception really sucked in the campus buildings.

"Hey, Dad."

"Veronica?" her father questioned. "I almost didn't recognize your voice. It's been so long since I heard from you."

"Sorry," she apologized, genuinely remorseful. "Things have been really hectic lately."

"I have had no one to talk to," he complained, continuing as if she had not spoken. "Yesterday I was so lonely I tried talking to a telemarketer who called during dinner. It's gotten to the point where I'm like one of those old people on the bus who will talk to you for twenty minutes if you accidently look them in the eye."

She laughed, despite the sadness that resurfaced whenever she thought of how far she and her father had grown apart. It was ridiculous that she should feel homesick when her home was only ten minutes away.

"I'm considering getting a new child," he jokingly informed her. "You know, to replace you. Where do you think I can get one these days? Wal-Mart?"

She pretended to pause and think about it. "Well I've heard that Target is a bit more expensive, but they do have better products."

"Target? Got it." Then they were silent for a moment. When he spoke again, his voice was slightly more serious. And hopeful. "Or, you can save me the money and come home for dinner tomorrow night. What do you say? Care to come visit your old man?"

"Yeah, sure," she said, a small smile tugging at her lips. Then she saw Michael stand and begin to walk out of the cafeteria. "But I have to go right now. I'll see you then."

"Alright, bye." He sounded happy.

"Bye," she wistfully answered, and then disconnected the call. She followed Michael out the doors, keeping a safe distance between them so that he would not notice her. He was making a right into a building that she knew contained his engineering class when someone else stepped into her path.

"Piz," she said in surprise.

Piz, who had been staring at the floor as he walked, jumped at the sound of her voice. "Oh, hey Veronica," he nervously greeted.

"Hey," she repeated. She watched as he squirmed in front of her. "How have you been?" she asked, figuring she should get niceties out of the way before she went back to following her wannabe crook.

"I… Fine… You know… Good… Really good," he stammered, obviously really wanting to get out of the conversation. "I have to go," he said. She nodded. He nearly fled into the nearest building.

Veronica sighed as she went back to following Michael. Piz had always been nervous around her. She used to think it was cute, in a slightly spastic way. He would ramble and fidget, but that was just who he was. Ever since they broke up, though, Piz barely spoke to her and would usually find a way to escape as soon as possible. She wondered if this was the post break up awkwardness, or if she had lost yet another friend.

Six hours later, Veronica was watching Michael drop a group of partying teens at the Neptune Grand. It was after dark and they all drunkenly stumbled to the main entrance. They had on formal wear, but it was too early in the year for Prom or Homecoming. Veronica estimated their ages and guessed that they were probably coming back from an extra festive Sweet Sixteen. That MTV show had nothing on '09er parties.

Michael drove off to bring the limo back to the company and Veronica clocked out for the day. There was nothing else she was going to learn from him. Driving back to her dorm room, Veronica's eyes were drawn to a car parked next to the beach.

She parked next to it and saw a path of footprints in the sand that began from the driver's side of the car. Following it, she was led to the edge of the water where a dark form sat next to a six-pack.

"What are you doing here?" she asked it.

"I could ask you the same thing."

"Boredom," she responded. It nodded and reached down to pull out a fresh bottle. It held the beer out to her without turning around. She accepted and sat down. "You?"

Logan chuckled darkly as he took a sip of his beer. "Letting the room air out."

She looked at him in confusion, but he kept his gaze on the waves as they crashed against the sand at his feet. "What?"

"Never mind," he said. "It's nothing."

Veronica stared at the unopened beer in her hands. He drained the bottle he was holding and tossed it in the ocean. Then he pulled out another. She watched but said nothing.

"Piz and I broke up," she finally said. He stared at her. "You asked me yesterday how he's been." When he was still silent, she awkwardly repeated, "We broke up."

He nodded uncertainly. "Okay." They both fell silent again, only this time he was watching her while she stared at the ocean.

"What's…" he started. He abruptly stopped and sighed, his head falling to his chest. She glanced at the case of beer. There was only one bottle left in it. "What's going on?"

"You mean other than you getting drunk?" she asked.

"I'm not drunk," he told her. "I'm pleasantly buzzed."

"Last time you said that you streaked in front of Mrs. Gaeta's house and passed out on her lawn."

He smirked at her, though his brow was furrowed in confusion. "I don't remember that. Didn't we have Mrs. Gaeta in freshman year?"

Veronica nodded. "Duncan had to go get you while Lilly and I waited in the car." She smiled, remembering how angry Duncan was to have to carry his unconscious, naked friend back across the street.

"I miss them," Logan mumbled, rubbing his eyes with his palms.

Veronica pulled her knees up to her chest. "Me too."

"I miss us," he said, his eyes boring into hers.

She looked away, the first one to break the intense stare down. "Logan…"

"Not just **US**," he interrupted, turning his body so she was forced to look at him. "I miss the way we were before too. The way we were when it was the four of us. You, me, Lilly, and Duncan. The Fab Four."

"There are only two of us left, Logan."

"Yeah," he agreed. "But even without Lilly and Duncan, we were friends. I want to go back to the way we were in the beginning." He moved closer so that they were only inches apart. "If we can't… be **US**, can we at least try to be like we were then?"

She watched him for a moment, trying to see if this was yet another drunken spiel that he would forget as soon as he sobered up. When all she saw was sincerity, she slowly nodded. He smiled, moving back to his original spot on the sand.

"Good," he whispered.

Veronica nodded, picking herself off the sand. "Thanks for the beer", she said, taking the still unopened bottle with her.

Back in the car, Veronica took a moment to stare into the distance at his huddled shape as he remained by the water. Her heart sank in her chest. She was not sure how she wanted that conversation to go, but she knew for a fact that was not it. She and Logan were never successful at just being friends. Whenever they were, she would lose a little bit more of him. And she did not want to lose him again.

Her thoughts still focused on their brief encounter, she made it back to her room just to flop down on her bed. Veronica was about to stand to get dressed for bed when her gaze landed on her desk. Or more specifically, the empty spot on her desk. Pushing herself up, she ran over.

She ripped open her desk drawers.

She dumped her messenger bag on the floor.

There was nothing there.

Her laptop was missing.

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A/N: So, there you go. I'm not thrilled with the LoVe scene, if you can call it that, but I'm trying to follow the pattern of their "let's be friends until we start hooking up" relationship. It will get better as the plot develops.

Please, please Review :)


	7. Chapter 7

**Title:** The Fire of Life

**Rating:** K

**Summary: **post-season three... Its Veronica's sophomore year at Hearst and things are going to be much different this time around. Aren't they? LoVe

**Spoilers:** All three seasons.

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing.

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Veronica had not slept at all last night.

Her room was now in complete shambles because she basically tore it apart in her search.

And her R.A. was ready to throw her off the floor because she woke her up at one in the morning by frantically banging on her door.

So, to say the least, Veronica was not a happy camper.

Mac had not come home last night and the disgruntled R.A. finally admitted that she did not see anyone else go into their room while Veronica was gone. Then she slammed the door in her face.

Veronica could care less if she made yet another enemy. Her laptop was missing. The most essential and most expensive thing she owned, other than her car. But her car, at least, did not contain all her notes and essays that she needed to pass her classes. Nor did it hold vital information that could have catastrophic consequences if fallen into the wrong hands. Which was why she had always been very careful with it, usually keeping it on her person at all times. But she had been able to move around faster while she was following Michael without the weight of the laptop slowing her down, so she had safely locked it in her room.

Michael. Could he have stolen it? No, that was impossible. He did not know that she was working a case on him. Unless he had somehow noticed her following him over the past week and a half.

Veronica was not sure, though. It could have been anyone. She did have many enemies, and even that was an understatement. Of course, she could be jumping the gun and someone may have just stolen it so they could sell it for money. Either way, she is definitely going to make someone pay.

At three o'clock on the dot, when Veronica knew for sure that Michael was going to his first class of the day, she began walking across campus toward his dorm building. She did not know if he took it, but she was going to check his room to make sure. Or more accurately, she was going to be breaking and entering to make sure.

And if she did find it there, she was going to make his life a living hell. He would have no idea what hit him. No one messed with Veronica Mars and got away with it. She once read that an effective torture technique was to string up someone by his or her thumbs. That seemed to be an almost unusual enough punishment to work.

"Yo, wait up," a very familiar voice called, dragging her from her murderous thoughts.

Veronica did not slow down. "Not now, Weevil."

Weevil ran up beside her. "Yes, now," he countered, stepping in her path and forcing her to stop. "I need your help."

"Can't," she grounded out between clenched teeth. "I've got my own problems to deal with."

"You owe me," he reminded her.

She rolled her eyes and tried to walk around him. "You sure that's not the other way around, buddy?"

Suddenly his hand was tightly gripping her arm and she looked down at it in surprise. "Veronica, this is important. I need your help," he implored, a hint of pleading shining through in his eyes.

She stared at him a moment, trying to gauge how honest he was being. "Alright," she finally agreed. "I'll help you. But, there is something else I need to do first." It made her a little nervous how relieved he looked when she said that.

"Okay," he said, slowly nodding. "Hit me up when you're done." He looked at her one more time, as if trying to ascertain if she would really help him, and then quickly walked into the crowd of students milling around the campus. Veronica could feel the confusion and curiosity taking over, but she hastily suppressed it. She needed to focus right now. There was a thieving rat bastard she needed to take care of.

Thirty minutes later, Veronica was beyond frustrated. All she could find in Michael's room were books on physics and more Star Trek figurines then she ever knew were even in existence. Unless there was a candle stick somewhere in the room that was going to reveal to her a secret hidden tunnel, then the laptop was definitely not here. Which meant that she was either more or less screwed, depending on who took it.

She heard a sound and immediately froze. Then she realized that it was the beeping sound from her cell phone signaling that she got a text. Veronica pulled out her phone and glanced at the screen.

_There's a huge problem._

_Please call me._

_-Nish_

It was amazing how people always avoided her like the plague until they needed her help. Why, today of all days, did everyone suddenly have problems that they need her to fix?

She dialed Nish's number and the line barely rang once before it connected through.

"Veronica?" Nish's frantic voice asked.

Veronica walked out of Michael's room and silently closed the door behind her. "What's wrong?"

"The list. It's gone."

"What?' Veronica asked, her voice a tad louder than it should have been and a passing guy looked up at her.

Nish sighed on the other end of the line. "Someone broke into my apartment yesterday. They stole the list you gave me. The one with the names of all the Castle members on it."

"How did they even know you had it?"

"They know we're attempting the lawsuit again," Nish explained. "They probably figured that this time we had some actual evidence."

"Well, they were right," Veronica murmured.

And then it all clicked.

Oh, she was **stupendously** more screwed.

"They have my copies of the list too," Veronica told her.

It was Nish's turn to be dumbfounded. "What?" she exclaimed.

"Someone stole my laptop last night. And I'm willing to bet they also took the hard copy I had hidden in the room."

"Great," Nish angrily said. "This is just great. And once again the rich and powerful are not going to have to pay for their actions."

Veronica shook her head, even if Nish could not see it. "Not if I can help it. I'll get the lists back."

"I hope you do," Nish wearily sighed. "Without them, the lawsuit is never going to happen. And they will probably make sure that we can never try and open the case again."

"Don't worry," Veronica said. "They are not getting away with this." Hanging up, she angrily stormed back to her own dorm.

When she got back to her room, Wallace and Mac were both there.

"Hey, V," Wallace greeted her from his spot on her bed. Mac, who was writing something in a notebook, merely nodded in acknowledgement. Veronica mumbled a "hey" and immediately began pulling files out of the bottom drawer. Sure enough, the list was not there.

Wallace leaned closer to look over her shoulder. "What are you doing?"

"Someone stole the list," she muttered, throwing all the papers back down in disgust.

"What list?" he asked, playing with a paperclip he pulled off the floor.

"The very important one with the names of every person who has ever been a member of the Castle," she answered, rubbing her eyes.

Mac looked up. "Someone broke in here?" Veronica angrily nodded.

"They took my laptop too. And they broke into Nish's apartment to take her copy." Mac's eyes widened in shock and Wallace stared at her. "I guess the Castle really didn't want to go public."

"So they took everything?" Mac asked.

Veronica thought about it a minute. Then, she triumphantly smiled. "No, they didn't. There's still one hidden at the office." She picked up her car keys. "I'm going to go to Nish's and see if whoever broke in accidently left something behind. Then I'll go pick it up." She quickly walked out the door and to her car.

Twenty minutes later, the sounds of a lock being clumsily picked echoed through the empty office of Mars Investigations. The intruder crept in and stumbled over to the filing cabinets against the far wall. He attempted to stealthily open the drawers, but they too were locked shut. As he reached into his pocket to pull out his lock-picking equipment, Veronica held up her taser and allowed it to spark in the darkness. He froze at the crackling sound of the weapon and she turned on the overhead lights.

The arm holding the taser dropped numbly to her side. "Wallace?" she sputtered out.

He had the decency to hang his head in shame. "You tricked me?"

"I thought I was tricking whoever bugged my room," she told him, staring in disbelief.

Wallace dropped onto the couch. "I should have known."

"So, what, you're a Castle member now? After everything they did to you? To me?" she spat out.

He shook his head while he held her gaze, his eyes clouded over in remorse. "They sent me a message at the party. Some guy told me I had to get them the lists before they were published or they'd make sure that I was expelled from Hearst. They swore that after they were done with me, I wouldn't even be able to be accepted to another college."

He edged closer, though still trying to give her the space that he knew she needed right now. "V, you know how hard I've worked. I can't lose it all now."

"Where's my laptop?" she asked, a sharp edge to her voice.

"I don't know," he admitted, looking defeated. "They had me leave it in an empty locker at the bus depot. I… I thought that since they needed a password to access it that it would be useless to them anyway and they would just give it back." Wallace finally lowered his gaze. "I'm so sorry, Veronica. I didn't know..."

"Did you break into Nish's apartment too?"

"No," he quickly defended. "I have no idea who did that."

Veronica watched him, feeling almost detached from the situation. Then she stiffly walked over and handed him the paper she had been holding. "This is the last list," she told him flatly.

"Veronica…" he started.

She crossed her arms across her chest. "You should leave now."

Wallace opened his mouth, but then shut it. He nodded and then slowly turned toward the door. He halted in the doorway, but she looked away so that he could not catch her gaze.

When she heard the door close, she sank into the chair behind her desk. Wallace was the one who stole her laptop. He had betrayed her. But the worst part was that she could understand why he did it. She did know how much school meant to him and how hard he had worked. Last year, he had been willing to sacrifice basketball, something that he really loved, just so that he could continue taking a mechanical engineering class. And she did believe that he did not realize how much damage he was doing by taking her laptop.

She could justify him hurting her. But she had sworn back in sophomore year of high school that she would not allow a friend to hurt her again. That was why she had closed herself off. But then she had let in Wallace. Now he too betrayed her

And her laptop was in the hands of the Castle. Which meant it was in the hands of Jake Kane. Jake Kane who, if he had not already done so, will probably soon crack into her files and have access to all the information inside.

She placed her forehead against the cool surface of her desk. Veronica had to figure out some way to get it back. But the problem was that the last time she went up against Jake Kane, it had caused irrevocable damage in her life.

Pushing the hair away from her eyes, she turned her head and happened to glance at the clock. It was nine p.m. Her head instantly shot up.

She had forgotten about the dinner with her father.

Could this day get any worse?

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A/N: So, if you have noticed the pattern of the previous chapters, this should have been a Logan point of view. But unfortunately, especially for me because I love writing Dick and Logan interactions, Logan is a bit detached from the action right now. He is going to be drawn in soon though so his p.o.v should be coming back in one or two chapters.

A/N 2: Thanks jacedes for pointing it out. I don't know how many times I've done it, but I haven't been paying attention and I accidently called the PCH the Pacific Central Highway. Sorry I'll be more careful with that.

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	8. Chapter 8

**Title:** The Fire of Life

**Rating:** K

**Summary: **post-season three... Its Veronica's sophomore year at Hearst and things are going to be much different this time around. Aren't they? LoVe

**Spoilers:** All three seasons.

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing.

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Mornings sucked.

Logan scrubbed his tired eyes with his palms as he searched for a clean shirt. He was going to have to send a load of clothes down to be cleaned because he was not sure he had enough to last him the week. When he was finally able to locate a t-shirt in his dresser, he turned to his closet where he knew he had a button-down that would match well enough with it. He found it pushed toward the back. But when he brought it out to put it on, he noticed that there was a large stain on the front. Scratching at it with his nail did nothing and he wondered if he had enough time to scrub it in the sink before he had to go to class. He did not remember getting a stain on this shirt and it did not occur to him that it could have been someone else until he heard the suite's door slamming shut.

Rolling his eyes, he glanced at the clock and saw that it was seven thirty a.m. Dick was just getting back. Logan walked into the living room of the suite, still trying to rub the stain off the shirt.

"Hey, Dick, did you wear my…" He trailed off when he looked up into Dick's red-rimmed eyes. He was still wearing yesterday's rumpled clothes and his blonde hair was uncharacteristically sticking out in all directions. Usually he had it neatly gelled into that windswept surfer look.

Dick just staggered past him, taking wavering steps toward his own bedroom. Logan could hear the door slamming shut before he even had time to turn around.

Dropping the shirt on the couch, Logan walked to Dick's door and turned the doorknob so that the door slowly creaked open. The light from behind Logan filtered into the dark room and he could see Dick's form sitting on the edge of his bed. Moving toward the bed, Logan could see that Dick was just blankly staring at the wall.

"What happened?" he quietly asked. Logan waited a couple minutes, but Dick offered no response. His concentration on the wall did not even falter. "Dick, where have you been?"

Dick actually reacted this time, his solemn face looking up at Logan. "Downstairs."

"Downstairs," Logan repeated, realization dawning on him. "Dude, haven't we talked about spending time with your dad? Not usually the best idea."

Dick shrugged, his gaze moving back to its spot on the wall. They were both silent. "My dad's going to jail," Dick mumbled after a few minutes.

"Yeah," Logan agreed, nodding though he stared at Dick in confusion. This was not exactly new news. They had known this for months now.

"Tomorrow," Dick clarified, leaning his head on his arm. "He's going to jail tomorrow."

Logan sighed, watching his clearly inebriated friend. "So… what? Big Dick took you on an all night bender in celebration."

Dick shook his head. "A farewell," he said, as he reached for a bottle of beer on the nightstand and held it up for a toast. Then he chugged it down.

Logan just watched, knowing that there was no way he would be able to stop him. It's not like he himself was the paradigm of sobriety. Later, after Dick passed out, he would go through the room and clear it of alcohol. That would guarantee at least an hour of a sober Dick before he went out and got himself more.

"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked, shifting uncomfortably. Logan figured that he should at least offer, even though he was probably the last person who could relate to Dick right now. Aaron going to jail had been the best thing that ever happened to Logan, at least until someone shot him in the back of the head and got him out of Logan's life for good.

His father's murder is still an unsolved case. Though, if they ever do find out who the killer is, Logan is going to shake his hand and hire him the best damn lawyer in the country.

Instead of answering, Dick just dropped back on the bed.

"We can hang out later if you want," Logan offered. "Play video games or something."

"Whatever," Dick muttered, turning so that his back was to Logan.

Logan stood there for a moment, his gut telling him that maybe he should stay here with Dick, but he had to go before he was late for class.

The whole time he was supposed to be listening to the lecture on management, Logan had trouble concentrating on anything other than his thoughts of Dick. He knew that Dick had been depressed lately and that it was, for the most part, because of his dad. Big Dick liked to lay it on thick with the guilt trips and usually, after one of those fun-filled visits, Dick would drink himself into unconsciousness. Logan had been hoping that the problem was his father living only a couple floors down and that once he was not in such a close proximity, that Dick would be back to normal. Now he was starting to think that there may be even more to the problem.

As Logan walked out of his last class of the morning, he tried to push the worry out of his mind. He made his way into the Hearst cafeteria and headed over to the food stand that sold the hamburgers that he was actually starting to become fond of. Along the way, he could feel eyes following him. He turned and saw that guy, whose ass he kicked, glaring at him. Logan raised an eyebrow at him. He distinctly remembered that guy threatening his life, but it's been months and nothing has happened. Logan smirked at him, showing that he knew the other guy was full of shit, and he saw as his eyes narrowed angrily.

Ignoring the eyes that were boring into the back of his head, Logan picked up his food and walked over to the cash register. The line steadily moved forward and he pulled out his money when the guy in front of him began paying.

The cashier accepted the guy's money, but then held each bill up to the light. After, she placed the money down on the counter. She pulled out a dark pen and began making marks on each individual one.

"Hey," the guy exclaimed in objection. "What are you doing? I don't have time for this. I have to get to class."

She shrugged. "Not my problem," she simply stated, continuing on with what she was doing. "New school policy is to check all money to see if it is counterfeit."

"It's a five and three singles," the guy said, throwing his arms in the air. "Don't you think if I was going to rip you off, I'd use bigger bills?"

"Just doing my job, sir," she said, sarcastically stressing the 'sir'. She put the pen back under the counter. "Enjoy your lunch," she muttered, slamming the cash register shut.

The guy stormed off. Logan took his place and waited patiently while his money went under the same process.

As he walked away with his newly purchased hamburger and fries, Logan looked around to find the nearest empty table. The problem was that it was noon, a time when most students eat their lunch at the Hearst food court. He was about to give up and take his food to a bench outside, when his gaze landed on a table with one occupant. A blonde head seated at the table was flipping through a textbook with one hand, while the other snaked its way into the messenger bag slung over the chair to pull out a highlighter.

After opening the cap, she suddenly reclosed the highlighter and threw it down the on the table. She pushed her hair behind her ears, and then suddenly dropped her head to the table. The obvious frustration was coming off her in waves.

Logan considered his next move for a total of ten seconds before he walked up to the table. "Hey," he greeted, carefully working to sound as casual as possible.

He watched her shoulders momentarily stiffen before she shot up in her seat. "Oh… hey."

"Um," Logan glanced down at the tray in his hands, "Can I sit here?"

She followed his gaze. "Yeah, sure. Go ahead."

He sat down, placing his food in front of him. Veronica shut her book, and he caught a glance of a man in a weird red and white hat on the cover. "What're you reading?"

"One of the most boring books in existence," she answered, rolling her eyes. "I was trying to distract myself with 'The Archaeology of Ancient Egypt'," she read off the cover with a slight smile, before she shoved it in her bag. "It's not really working."

Logan gave a small smile in return as he looked at her uncertainly. "Archaeology?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah," she said, laughing a little. "I had to fulfill my social science requirement and it seemed easy enough at the time. I figured 'Just hand me a mini chisel and tiny brush, and point me to the bones.' Piece of cake."

He nodded, taking a bite of his burger. "Sounds like your kind of a Friday night."

She smiled, but it seemed a bit more like a grimace and her eyes had barely left her hands the whole time he had been there. He knew her well enough to know when she was upset. Logan started picking at his fries, but kept one eye on her.

After his night spent drinking on the beach, they were now officially friends again. And from his past 'friend' experience, he figured it was the duty of being a friend to find out what was the matter with her. But, then again, he had also thought it was a friend's responsibility to make sure that the other friend got justice when he or she was hurt. Obviously, that had not gone over so well. Logan just did not want to ruin this new friendship on its first day out

But if there was one thing he had not ever been able to control about himself, it was worrying about Veronica.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

She looked up at him in surprise, until she regained control of her features and her face went blank. He readied himself for the patented Veronica brush off, but instead she just sighed and he could see the sadness flicker in her eyes.

"I don't think I'm a very good daughter," she said. She refused to look him in the eye, instead focusing on a spot beyond his head.

"Why?" For as long as Logan could remember, Veronica and her father had had an extremely close relationship. It was like that even before Lilly died and her mother took off. Keith Mars meant everything to Veronica, and this is why it had always hurt that Keith could not accept Logan. If Keith did not find him to be a suitable boyfriend for her, then deep down Veronica never would either.

Veronica sighed. "I promised I would have dinner with him and I forgot."

"That's not that big of a deal," he reassured her. "Just call him. Say you're sorry."

She shook her head. "No, it was. It meant a lot to him. But I was so preoccupied with my laptop and…"

He quirked an eyebrow as she trailed off. "Your laptop?" he prompted.

Veronica opened her mouth, but quickly closed it. The expression that flitted across her face was gone so quickly that he did not have enough time to name it. "I lost it," she finally answered. When she looked away, he could tell that was the end of that conversation.

Silence engulfed them as he pushed his burger around on its plate and tried to figure out what else they could talk about. He was just about to say something, when he saw a tattoo-covered former gang leader approaching the table.

"Paco," Logan greeted with a sneer, before he internally winced. Pissing off Veronica's friends was probably not the best way to get back on her good side.

Weevil ignored him. "Is now a good time? Or should I wait until after your done dining with Richie Rich?"

Apparently the pool boy was all pissed on his own, even without Logan's help.

He looked back at Veronica and was surprised to see the guilt flash across her face. "Yeah, Weevil. Sorry, I lost track of time," she apologized, standing and picking up her bag. Then she must have realized Logan was still sitting there. "Oh, umm… I have to go."

He nodded. "Yeah, okay." Veronica gave him a quick smile, before both she and Weevil walked away. Logan sat, watching them go.

Then he saw the time on his watch and he stood to dispose of his garbage so that he could get to his next class.

A couple hours later, he was walking through the lobby of the Neptune Grand. The manager, standing behind the main desk, looked up as he passed and waved. Logan nodded back in acknowledgement and quickened his pace to the elevator. Ever since the incident with the rats, it seemed like the entire staff of the hotel was being a lot nicer to them. Apparently they figured paying closer attention to Dick's and Logan's needs would make amends for the fact that they had not figured out how the rats got on the tray. Logan just wanted all the focus off himself. This is exactly why he had always hated the paparazzi.

As Logan was about to insert his keycard into the lock, the door suddenly opened and he backed out of the way as a tall blonde in a skimpy red dress brushed past him. She got into the elevator, leaving without a word.

Logan looked in the room and saw Dick standing there in a terry bathrobe, with a smug grin plastered across his face.

"Well," Logan started, moving further into the room, "I guess you're in a better mood."

"Didn't you see her?" Dick asked as he sat down on the couch. "Oh, by the way, I borrowed three hundred from your nightstand."

Logan threw his jacket in a corner. "Why?"

"She deserved a REALLY good tip."

"You hired a hooker?" Logan asked, sitting on the couch beside him and picking up the game controller.

Dick turned on the television. "Wasn't in the mood to smooth talk my way into some chick's pants." He leaned back into the couch, with the other controller in his hands, and put his feet up on the table in front of him. Out of the corner of his eye, Logan could see Dick's robe falling haphazardly to the side, seconds away from revealing far more than Logan ever wanted to see.

"Uhh, Dude, can you put on some clothes first?"

Dick looked down and shrugged. He went to his room to change.

At least some things are back to normal, Logan thought as he started the game.

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A/N: This was going to be another Veronica P.O.V chapter because things are starting to happen now and I had this big chapter planned. BUT then I realized it's been awhile since we had some Logan perspective and I kind of missed it. So here you go. I'll try to update with my Veronica chapter soon.

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